Vice President greets people on eve of Ganesh Chaturthi

The Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, has greeted the people of country on the eve of auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.In his message, Ansari said: This festival celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, who symbolizes wisdom, prosperity and happiness. Lord Ganesha is invoked before any auspicious work begins and for removing obstacles on the path of spiritual and material success.

New Delhi, Sept. 14 : The Vice President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, has greeted the people of country on the eve of auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.In his message, Ansari said: "This festival celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, who symbolizes wisdom, prosperity and happiness. Lord Ganesha is invoked before any auspicious work begins and for removing obstacles on the path of spiritual and material success."

Ganesh Chaturthi reminds us of the importance of imbibing the sublime and eternal values in our lives to usher in a humane society, the Vice President added.

During the ten-day-long festival, Ganesha idols are worshipped at hundreds of 'pandals' or makeshift tents before immersing in water bodies.

For years, Ganesh Chaturthi was a personal or private affair, celebrated at homes. But at the turn of the century, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a fighter for freedom from British rule, converted it into a public event, using it as a platform for political propaganda.

The festival is hugely popular in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Legend has it that Hindu Goddess Parvati had created Ganesh from a perfumed putty-like substance, used to remove dirt from her body in an ancient self-cleansing ritual, the equivalent of a modern bath.

Parvati's husband Lord Shiva, one of the three most powerful Gods in the Hindu pantheon, flew into rage and beheaded the young lad and barred his entry into Kailash, Shiva's snow-clad mountain abode.

When he later realised that the boy was created by his wife Parvati during his absence, Shiva brought him back to life by slaying an elephant and giving him the animal's head. Thus was created Ganesh, one of the best-loved of Indian gods.

ANI